(M)other - an interactive workshop May 5, 2008

The Mother Tour Comes to Austin!

The Single Parent Resource Network announces a Mother's Day week-end of activities that will unite Austin area mothers to join their voices, passion and action with mothers around the world who are acting up on behalf of the world's children.

On Friday, May 9th at 6pm a one-woman performance, (M)other will be performed at Hot Mama Espresso Bar, 2401 East 6th Street, written and performed by Beth Osnes, co-founder of Mothers Acting Up and a professor of theatre at University of Colorado. (M)other, a program of Mothers Acting Up (MAU) and Philanthropiece, combines art with social empowerment and is an inspiring opening act to reclaim the activist roots of Mother's Day.

Incorporating both heart and humor, this one-hour performance jump starts the conversation about mothers taking on a more public role in advocating for children everywhere. (M)other explores what it just might take to get the people of one nation to authentically care about the children and families of other nations. The show's opening describes a fictional program, called "Baby Swapping," created by the United Nations to generate care for the world's children. In this small, limited pilot program, seven mothers from seven nations from around the world are required by their governments to swap their six month old babies with another mother from another nation for one month. What follows is an intimate look at these mother's experiences and their eventual realization of their interconnectedness.

On Saturday, May 10th at 10am there will be a participatory Workshop for Moving from Concern to Action at The Dougherty Arts Center, 1110 Barton Springs Rd, where each mother will gain vocal confidence and strength, declare her most passionate concern facing the world's children, and devise an attainable plan for action based on that concern.

This performance and workshop are part of The Mother Tour which will travel to cities across North America and parts of Asia and Africa from May 2008-2010. Footage will be gathered at every location, including Austin and a movie will be created that explores the diversity and variety of voices, actions, and solutions of this global community of mothers acting up on behalf of the world's children.

Entry to the theatrical performance will be a $10 donation at the door and there is no fee for the Workshop.

This event is presented by Mothers Acting Up(www.mothersactingup.org), a movement to mobilize mothers to advocate for the world's children, The Single Parent Resource Network (www.sprn.org), dedicated to co-creating healthier, happier families, and Philanthropiece (www.philanthropiece.org), a foundation that supports locally defined projects that focus on education, health initiatives, quality of life, environmental issues and business and economic opportunity.

Official Website: http://www.sprn.org